A woman has been arrested after two toddlers were found tied up with chains and a dog leash in her back garden in a case that has shocked America.

One of the children, a girl aged around three, had a broken arm and was tied to the a door with a dog lease, according to Bexar County sheriff deputies.

A little boy, aged around two years of age, was fastened to a metal chain which was strapped to his ankle, said deputies.

"It’s sickening. To call this horrific would be an understatement,” spokesman James Keith told the San Antonio Express-News. “If it wasn’t for our deputies and this caller who tipped us off, we know that this could have had an even worse outcome.”

Inside the house, deputies found six more children, ages 10 months to 13 years. No adults were at home, according to police.

The parents of the six children returned to the house early Friday morning, the sheriff’s office said.

The mother, 34-year-old Porucha Phillips, was arrested Friday afternoon and faces two felony charges of injury to a child. Jail records show she is waiting to go before a magistrate to be officially charged.

“It’s believed she was responsible for the care of the two children who were found tied up outside,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.

Deputies released both children, who were taken to a local children’s hospital to be “treated for a variety of issues,” the sheriff’s office said in a release. All eight of the children are in the care of Child Protective Services.